


Auction

by nychus



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha Noctis Lucis Caelum, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Omega Ignis Scientia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-21 20:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30027324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nychus/pseuds/nychus
Summary: Once a year, there's a big auction of omegas. It's one of the largest to-dos each year. Many omegas dream of being up for auction, enticing a rich alpha, and becoming a part of the high life. Some omegas would rather lead the quiet life and do their own thing.It's a tradition that the Lucis Caelums have long hated and would love to get rid of, but there's always road blocks. The council always insists male heirs go at least once, even though no one in the royal family has bought an omega in several generations.Noctis had no plans to breaking that tradition, but then he sees an omega that had taught him an introductory course in university. It was an omega who clearly had hopes and dreams and those would be squashed by whoever bought him. Noctis decides to break tradition in order to save one Ignis Scientia.
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 30
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [ starultima](https://twitter.com/starultima/status/1367460426334748676?s=20)'s rendition of what Iggy looks like :D it's FAB-U-LOUS (please ignore my crappy sketch, heeeeeeh)

The lights in the hall were dimmed and blue giving what would normally be a refined space the look of a night club. There was music playing, nothing too loud so that conversation could be had. The servers – mostly women and all omegas – were dressed in tight fitting outfits to show off their assets. Only the best-looking omegas were allowed in the auction because the sick, twisted world they lived in figured those were the only omegas that mattered.

Noctis hated that he had to be there. The council always pushed for a male heir to go at least once, if only to see what was available to them and clearly hoping to entice the heir to take a mate. Nevermind the fact that no Lucis Caelum had purchased an omega in several generations.

One small favor for Noctis was that he still kept pretty well to himself and not a lot of people knew who he was. Plus, it was the one time that not being a typically built alpha worked for him – omegas weren’t throwing themselves on him. In fact, they were much more interested in Gladio who was there solely to keep an eye on the prince. It was telling that even Gladio, who normally loved the attention of women, was obviously uncomfortable.

The whole idea was to mill about, talk to various omegas you find interesting, and then put a bid into to buy them. It was a silent auction and no one knew who won whom until the next day. Alphas walked around with a booklet to write bids on to place in various bins and omegas fawned all over them. For many omega this was all they were brought up to do: find a good mate at an auction.

Alphas tended to go in to find a servant. There was a lot of old money walking around the room and the young men were on the lookout for someone new to add to their collection.

It was strange, Noctis always thought, that they could be so advanced in most things but omega auctions were still the norm. And no one batted an eye. Even among omega-rights activists, these auctions tended to be ignored. Noctis had no idea why. They weren’t secret and were often touted as one of the main events of the year.

Wandering around and politely declining the free drinks the omegas kept offering him, Noctis found he was just counting down until the moment he could leave. He knew he needed to stay and mingle long enough for the alpha sons of the council to notice him. He managed to find a little pod of them and went to say hello.

“Thought I saw Gladio,” one of them said after the initial greetings, “figured you had to be here too.”

Noctis shrugged, “Gotta have my shield.”

They started comparing notes on the different girls they were each going to bid on. That was followed by all the things they intended to do with their won girl. Noctis laughed when others did, but he was deeply uncomfortable. None of this was right.

The name Sagefire came up and the mood became even more lecherous, which Noctis couldn’t believe was possible.

“Sagefire, damn, that is the most alpha omega I have ever seen.”

“I would not mind bending him over and making him take my knot. To have control over someone so powerful looking?”

Visuals just got worse from there and Noctis felt sorry for whoever this Sagefire was. None of the omegas used their real names while on auction. It was an attempt to keep families from screwing each other over or omegas without a strong lineage to still be bought. A small part of Noctis wanted to look for this man. He wouldn’t be hard to find since there were so few male omegas, but he didn’t know what he would do with the knowledge and decided against it.

After a few minutes, Noctis excused himself to finish making a loop of the hall before collecting Gladio and leaving. It would have been an easy thing to do if Noctis didn’t spot someone he knew and was horrified to see there.

It was the TA who had taught his introduction to political science class last semester. Noctis knew he was omega, but he didn’t seem to want anything to do with the omega life. He was smart, working on his masters, and he made what Noctis would consider a boring subject interesting. It also helped that he was extremely attractive and…

“Astrals,” Noctis muttered to himself, praying that the realization he just had wasn’t true. Ignis, the TA, would definitely qualify as being a very ‘alpha’ omega. He had to be sure they hadn’t been talking about Ignis because he couldn’t stand that.

Slowly approaching, Noctis noted how out of place he looked. Yes, he was wearing the skintight outfit the other servers were (where the women had low-cut cleavage and dresses so short that they could easily flaunt their knickers, the men were in tight fitting jeans and a top that was covering their necks, shoulders, and arms and nothing else) but he wasn’t moving around like the others. It seemed he didn’t want to be there.

Ignis wasn’t looking at him as he approached and Noctis’s heart dropped when he could make out the nametag clipped to this top. Sagefire.

“Hey, uh…Sagefire,” Noctis greeted, deciding to stick to the fake name. 

His greeting caused Ignis to jump and the man looked horrified to see Noctis, a former student (and the prince), at the event.

“Noct…Highn…Noctis,” Ignis stuttered, trying to figure out how to address him. Noctis had gotten him to settle on his real name in class and so was now pleased that he still used it and not his honorific.

“I never thought you’d be at one of these,” Noctis said. He knew it was rude but he needed Ignis to say it wasn’t what he wanted.

He sighed. “I had hoped I could avoid it by coming to Lucis.”

Good, he didn’t want to be here. “So, family?”

“My Great Grandmother. She has final say in everything, although you can usually reason with her. But she saw no use for me when I presented omega. She tried to convince my parents to auction me off before I finished high school. They resisted and I came to Insomnia.”

“How did she manage to get you here?”

“All it took was for her to sign me up. Once my name was in the system and I was verified as being up to the auctions standards, there was nothing I could do. I’ve heard the stories of omegas who refused auctions. While I hope they aren’t true, I find I can’t trust it when auctions like these still take place.”

Noctis had also heard the stories. Omegas who had tried to get away that wound up tortured and dead. Like Ignis, Noctis hoped those were just urban myths, but Ignis also had a point. Auctions still happened and so the other might too. By relenting and allowing himself to be auctioned off, there was a chance he’d have a good life. A small chance, but a chance.

“I hate that you’re here,” was all Noctis could think to say.

A sad smile presented itself briefly. “Me too.”

With that, the conversation was over. A couple of alphas had come over and pushed past Noctis to talk to Ignis. He watched for a few seconds before turning away to finish his round. Once he was back at the hall doors, he glanced around for Gladio. It didn’t take long to find him and all he had to do was give a little nod of his head and Gladio knew it was time to go. As his shield extricated himself from the omegas fawning over him, Noctis looked at the auction table.

The table was filled with boxes with the names of each of the omegas on them. The boxes were clear so that anyone could see how many bids had been made on each omega. Ignis’s was fairly full, Noctis noted. The names of the bidders and their amounts were hidden by little envelopes that held each bidding slip, but it was clear interest was high.

He debated for a moment before stepping outside the hall into a quieter area. Pulling out his phone, he called his father to ask what the absolute highest he could bid was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a thing. I have no idea where I'm going with it. I don't even know if there will be lovely sexy times or just general chill or what. I don't know how often I'll update. Hell, I'm really only putting this out now because I want to be sure everyone and their cats have seen Star's lovely Iggy art a million times.
> 
> I'll need to be more focused on the Reverse Big Bang and I believe a Hug Iggy Week is coming, so this'll be on the back burner, but it exists and I hope you enjoy it as it comes. <3


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” Stupeo asked for the umpteenth time that morning.

“I’m sure,” Ignis told him, again. There was only a little more hesitation before Stupeo finally left. “I promise to let you know as soon as I can.”

It was Monday, the morning after the auction and Ignis found himself alone in his uncle’s apartment. As soon as his name had been added to the auction, Ignis had been forced to quit school. This also meant that he lost his school-provided housing and was thankful that his uncle could take him in.

It wouldn’t be for long, Ignis knew. As soon as he was bought, he would go live with his new alpha. He would lose all sense of himself and be forced to do whatever was asked of him. At least, that was how he understood things. He asked his adviser if he could come back to school should his alpha allow it and he was promised that he could. It was something small he could cling too, even if he thought his chances were next to zero.

All morning, he was alone with his thoughts. He didn’t know what to do with himself and so he went through his uncle’s cupboards and started baking. He was ready to do treat after treat but then he worried that his alpha would show up force him away immediately. So, he stopped after the first batch of cupcakes.

There wasn’t anything to pack as what little he had was still in the suitcases he’d brought from school. Who knew if he’d be allowed to keep anything anyway.

He wondered who had bought him. A part of him wished it was the prince, but he knew that the royal family didn’t take part in the archaic tradition. Figured that the one night Noctis had gone was the night he was there. The alphas he heard talking about him (often while he was standing right there) only spoke of him as an object and talked about all the things they wanted to do to him.

The world could be very disgusting.

A knock on the door told Ignis that the time had come. He hoped that at the very least, the alpha wouldn’t sink his teeth into his mating gland until after they got back to the alpha’s territory. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Highness,” he said, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I, uh, I came to give you this.” Noctis held out a long, thin box, which Ignis took.

Inside was a silver skull pendant on a silver chain. Ignis stared at it, confused, before looking back up for an explanation. “What is this?”

“It’s, uh, well, I’m sorry it’s not very much, I was kind of rushed to get it this morning. But it’s my…my mark. It’s to protect you from unwanted alphas. As long as you want it, anyway.”

“What?” Ignis couldn’t understand what Noctis was saying. What did he mean it was his mark? That it was protection.

“It’s magicked to act like a bite. My bite. Like…like we’re bonded.”

The cogs in Ignis’s brain were slowly started to spin as he realized what Noctis was actually saying. “Wait…you are my alpha? You bought me?”

The prince turned red. “Yeah, I mean…I heard what they wanted to do to you. How they wanted to degrade you and you don’t deserve that. You are so amazing and you should live whatever life you want. And now you can do that. Alphas won’t bother you. Your grandmother can’t complain. You are free to live your life. Go back to school, get your degree, do…do whatever it is one does with a masters in political science.”

He didn’t know what came over him, but Ignis just started laughing. There was nothing funny about the situation; nothing at all. Perhaps the stress of the last couple of weeks and especially last night and this morning had finally gotten to him. All the worry and here was the prince of Lucis saving him. Buying him so that he could be free.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Ignis wheezed. He noted the look of concern. “Come in, please. I’m sorry, I just…after everything…would you like a cupcake?”

“Cupcake?” Noctis asked, no doubt confused by the non-sequitur.

“I stress bake,” Ignis said, wiping tears from his eyes. “I would have made so much more, but I didn’t want to be in the middle of something only to be taken away.”

For a moment, things felt normal. Noctis sat at the kitchen table while Ignis plated two cupcakes for each of them. He then poured them each a glass of milk before joining the prince.

“The relief of it all…” Ignis gave a content sigh as he took a bite of the cupcake. “You are much too kind.”

A cute blush dusted Noctis’s cheeks as he looked down at his cupcake. “Yeah, well. You actually made me want to get up in the mornings. You made a subject I find dry interesting.”

“I will admit that I had a brief fantasy that you would buy me,” Ignis found himself saying. “If only because I thought it’d be easier to belong to someone I knew. But I didn’t think the royal family took part in these auctions.”

“We haven’t in generations. Dad was kind of surprised when I asked what I could spend. Thankfully, it was a lot, because I knew it would need to be to outbid all the others. Even then, it seemed like someone had a similar idea because I asked what the next closest bid was and it wasn’t too much lower.”

“I shall endeavor to make the amount worth it,” Ignis promised. There was a part of him that was curious what he was ‘worth’ but he worried about how he would react to such an amount.

“If you promise to call me whenever you stress bake, I think we’ll be even. These are delicious.”

“Oh, thank you.”

They sat in companionable silence for the remainder of the cupcake break. Then Noctis said he should get going, but to not hesitate to call if he needed anything. He also made sure to put the skull pendant on and Ignis could feel the thrum of the magic in it. The prince’s fingers stayed clasped to the chain for a few seconds longer when a warm, tingly sensation radiated from the necklace.

“It should let everyone know that you aren’t available. You and I are the only ones that can take it off. I didn’t have time to figure out how to make it so only you could.”

“Thank you, Noctis, truly.”

“Yeah, well…I’ll be seeing ya.” And he was gone. Out the door and down the hallway to some other part of the Citadel no doubt.


	3. Chapter 3

Noctis had left Ignis and immediately went home to crash. He hoped that he didn’t seem too tired while visiting but magicking the necklace had taken a lot out of him. It wasn’t something that he could ask someone else to do, either. For it to be his protection, he had to perform the enchantment. And needing to add that little extra once it was around Ignis’s neck took out the rest of his reserves.

The following day his duties continued as usual. Meetings to attend, reports to read… Noctis wished he was still in school, but the council argued against him continuing his education after a couple of years in university. Sure, logically, Noctis knew he wasn’t learning anything there that would help him rule the country, but it had been fun

He’d just finished a spar with Gladio whenever his phone started ringing.

“Don’t, we’re not done here,” Gladio warned, but Noctis ignored him.

The tone was the default, which meant it wasn’t someone that normally called him. Even though it was probably just spam, he wanted to check. Upon seeing Ignis Scientia on his screen, he was glad he did.

“Hey, Ignis,” he greeted, although he wasn’t quite sure if he was heard.

“Get you money back. Send me to be someone else’s omega. Treat me like an omega. That’s all I’m good for. That’s all I’ll ever be. I’m not worth the yen you spent on me.”

“Hey, hey, hey, what? What? No, where are you?”

“Does it matter? I guess you want your necklace back. I’m at my uncles. Come get it and then throw me to the wolves.”

The call ended and Noctis stared at his phone.

“What’s up?” Gladio asked.

“I’m not sure, but Ignis seems to be having some sort of breakdown. I need to go be sure he’s okay.” He got a raised eyebrow from Gladio. “What?! I’m allowed to care about people!”

“It’s not just because he’s technically your omega that you quite clearly have a crush on?” Gladio asked.

Noctis silently fumed as he turned towards the locker room. He needed to shower and put on clean clothes before walking into a distressed omega’s home.

~*~*~*~*~

As he knocked on Ignis’s door, he wasn’t sure what to expect. He had worried about the man since he’d left Gladio. Noctis was half expecting him to be completely disheveled and wild-eyed upon answering.

However, Ignis seemed to have calmed down and looked sheepish. “I apologize for my behavior. It was very unbecoming and not my character at all. I am sorry that I pulled you away from whatever you were doing. I am deeply ashamed.”

“It’s no problem,” Noctis insisted, “at most I didn’t have one more spar with Gladio. It’s always a good day when I can annoy him.”

Ignis pursed his lips but said nothing.

“Mind if I ask what caused it?”

He was invited in and asked if he wanted anything to drink. Once they both had glasses of water and were sitting across from each other at the dining table (where the cupcakes still were and Noctis definitely took one when offered) Ignis explained his outburst.

“I had gone to talk with my adviser. I wanted to know what I could do to keep from getting too far behind before I could re-enroll. He was shocked to see me; said he’d never intended on me coming back because no alpha in their right mind would let an omega continue getting educated.”

“Ouch,” Noctis frowned.

“I asked if I could bring confirmation that I was allowed and he said, ‘The King himself could give you permission and we wouldn’t take you back.’”

Noctis couldn’t help but grin, “You didn’t tell him?”

“What? No! I would never use your name to advance myself,” Ignis said, looking scandalized.

“I knew I liked you,” Noctis said before he could stop himself. Although, he wasn’t sad to see the light pink begin to dust Ignis’s cheeks.

With a sigh, Ignis continued, “I knew it would be hard when I presented. Especially after seeing how Gran reacted to it. She immediately wanted me auction off. I thought I could live my own life in Lucis, but I’m forever a bought omega now. Any time someone does a background check, they’ll know I was at auction. Soon, they’ll know who bought me.”

“I wish there was something I could do,” Noctis said. “We’ve fought hard for omega rights, but the council keeps putting roadblocks up. They have more power than most people know.”

“You’ve already done more for me than you ever should have. If not for you, I’d be…” Ignis went quiet as a shadow moved over his face. He was no doubt thinking about the things those alphas had said they had wanted to do with him. He shook his head a little to get out of the space and said, “I’ll figure out something. Do you have any need for a personal baker?”

The suggestion was done in jest, Noctis knew. Upon asking the question, Ignis offered another cupcake as the first was now sadly finished, but it did get Noctis thinking.

“No…” he said slowly, “but I will need a chamberlain.”

“What?” Ignis asked. He was clearly affronted at the suggestion but trying to hide it.

Noctis didn’t blame him. Chamberlains were traditionally omega, but not in the royal family.

“I’m going to have to move back into the Citadel soon. I’m being allowed to finish off my lease, but then back here to always be on hand. I’ll need a chamberlain. You’d have to pass crownsguard training if it’s something you might want to do.”

“What? Crownsguard training?”

“Yeah. Chamberlains are part of the inner circle of the Lucis Caelums. As they have apartments connected to the royal chambers, they are often thought of as being the first defense. You don’t have to be an active member, but one of the qualifications is to have the training of one. That includes yearly exams.

“Chamberlains also often take on more duties. My dad’s first chamberlain became a trusted adviser. He got sick and had to quit a couple of years ago. Even when he got better, he was too weak to be able to do what was required of crownsguard. He’s still an adviser though.”

“I didn’t think omegas could be crownsguard.”

“Most don’t want to be. It’s a lot of work physically and on top of it, it’s mostly young, virile alphas who have a tendency to want to show off. I’m not sure how long it’s been since there’s been an omega crownsguard. I know the last omega chamberlain was over a century ago. Usually they’re betas.”

Noctis watched as Ignis digested this information. Now that he had put the idea out there, he **really** wanted Ignis to do it.

After a moment, Ignis said, “I don’t have any experience with weaponry.”

“Most don’t. There is a process of trying to figure out what weapons work with each new recruit. I doubt you’d want to use a great sword, only idiots like Gladio use that. My best friend is trying out with the next group. He’s going for firearms. He’s stupid good at the arcade games that use guns and he has less muscle than me, so it’s a good fit. Everyone gets tailored to what works best. Clarus, Cor, and the others know that a good guard is made up of a variety of styles and they have people to work with everything.”

“What’s your weapon?” Ignis asked.

With a grin, Noctis stood from the table and held out his hand. In a flash of blue crystals, his beloved engine blade was in his hand. “This. Well, this is my preferred. I train with pretty much everything and have some proficiency in most, but the blade is my best. Dad had this made for me for my 16th birthday and this’ll be what all my descendants get should they want my royal arm.”

“You do seem quite proud of it,” Ignis commented as he leaned in to get a closer look. “But I must confess, I do not know what you speak of when you say royal arm.”

Tossing the blade back into the armiger, Noctis sat back down to explain the royal arms to Ignis. Each past ruler had a preferred weapon and it was a rite of passage for the heir to seek them out before ascension.

“We can collect as many or as few as we want, it’s more about the journey these days since we’re not often going into battle. I can’t go until I have my personal guard. Dad wants me to have at least three, even though I think he’d prefer if I had four like he did. Gladio as my shield will go for sure. Prompto too once he’s inducted. Just need to find that third.”

He almost said that that third could be Ignis, but he stopped himself. All of these new ideas coming into his mind were making him excited and yet Ignis hadn’t even expressed interest in being chamberlain. He even seemed apprehensive about there being omega crownsguard. At least Ignis looked like he was thinking about the possibility.

The door to the apartment opened and Ignis’s uncle walked in. He seemed shocked to see Noctis.

“Good evening, Highness. I wasn’t expecting there to be company,” Stupeo said with a little bow.

“Mr. Scientia,” Noctis greeted. He then glanced the time and realized he’d been there over an hour. “Oh, I didn’t realize it’d gotten so late. I’m sorry, I need to go. It was nice talking with you Ignis. Think about what I said. I’ll see you later. Goodbye, Mr. Scientia.”

He quickly left the apartment and made his way to the parking garage. He tried to NOT think about Ignis and the possibility of him living with just a door separating him. He really tried not to think about Ignis in training, sweaty and looking gorgeous.

Yeah, it was probably a terrible idea to suggest the chamberlain thing. He never should have won the auction anyway, but he truly did want the best for Ignis. He just hoped that he could be that best now.


End file.
